When you join the team at Unum, you become part of an organization committed to helping you thrive.
Here, we work to provide the employee benefits and service solutions that enable employees at our client companies to thrive throughout life’s moments. And this starts with ensuring that every one of our team members enjoys opportunities to succeed both professionally and personally. To enable this, we provide:
Award-winning culture
Inclusion and diversity as a priority
Performance Based Incentive Plans
Competitive benefits package that includes: Health, Vision, Dental, Short & Long-Term Disability
Generous PTO (including paid time to volunteer!)
Up to 9.5% 401(k) employer contribution
Mental health support
Career advancement opportunities
Student loan repayment options
Tuition reimbursement
Flexible work environments
And that’s just the beginning…
With 10,000 employees helping more than 39 million people worldwide, every role at Unum is meaningful and impacts the lives of our customers. Whether you’re directly supporting a growing family, or developing online tools to help navigate a difficult loss, customers are counting on the combined talents of our entire team. Help us help others, and join Team Unum today!
General Summary:Are you passionate about using AI and advanced analytics to solve complex, high‑visibility business problems? Do you thrive in an innovation‑driven environment where you can prototype, experiment, and shape the future of AI at scale? If so, this is the role for you.We are seeking a Senior or Principal Data Scientist to join our innovation hub—a small, agile team tackling the company’s most strategic challenges. You’ll build POCs, develop end‑to‑end machine learning and generative AI solutions, and work directly with senior leaders across the enterprise.
What You Bring
Bachelor’s in a quantitative field required (Master’s/PhD preferred)
6+ years of experience in data science or machine learning
Strong Python and SQL skills
Experience with cloud platforms (AWS preferred; Azure/GCP comparable)
Databricks + PySpark experience is a strong plus
Background in statistical modeling, ML algorithms, and feature engineering
Ability to build automated analytics workflows and work with APIs
Strong communication skills with experience influencing senior stakeholders
Entrepreneurial mindset, curiosity, and comfort working in fast‑moving environments
Job Specifications / Qualifications
Education
Bachelor's degree in a quantitative field required.
Master’s or PhD in a quantitative discipline preferred.
Experience
6+ years of professional experience or equivalent relevant work.
Proven track record leading end‑to‑end data science projects with measurable business impact.
Technical Expertise
Core Data Science Capabilities (expert in at least two, strong in others):
Programming & Automation:
Python required; experience with automation, DevOps practices, APIs, file I/O, and database integrations.
Experience engineering solutions in cloud environments (AWS preferred; Azure/Google comparable).
Exposure to object‑oriented development and scalable architecture.
Data Visualization:
Expertise across multiple visualization tools and techniques.
Ability to tailor visuals to business use cases and audiences.
Statistics & Machine Learning:
Deep knowledge of statistical inference, regression, feature selection, feature extraction, and ML algorithms.
Experience leading large-scale modeling projects end-to-end.
Familiarity with generative AI approaches is a plus.
Data Engineering / ETL:
Strong SQL skills; ability to design, debug, and optimize complex queries.
Ability to navigate and explore large databases independently.
Experience combining internal and external data sources.
Soft Skills & Business Leadership
Strong communication skills, including the ability to influence senior leaders.
Project management expertise and strong business acumen (financial services experience a plus).
Ability to manage multiple concurrent initiatives in a fast‑moving environment.
Comfortable leading engagements and representing analytics with executive leadership.
Primary Responsibilities
Analytical Solution Development
Design, develop, and execute analytical solutions using optimization, simulation, machine learning, generative AI, and statistical modeling.
Construct predictive models to explain events, forecast behaviors, identify risk, or perform segmentation and clustering.
Apply domain expertise to ensure models are practical, interpretable, and aligned with business needs.
Evaluate alternative approaches and select appropriate modeling techniques for each use case.
Data Engineering & Preparation
Integrate and transform large volumes of data from diverse sources (e.g., DB2, SQL Server, Teradata, APIs) to support analytics and experimentation.
Build modeling‑ready datasets using validation, reconciliation, feature engineering, and aggregation techniques.
Write complex SQL queries involving multi‑table joins, data exploration, and troubleshooting with minimal guidance.
Develop logical data models combining internal and external datasets; lead conversations with external data providers when needed.
Automation & Deployment
Build automated analytics pipelines leveraging scripting, APIs, DevOps practices, and cloud platforms.
Partner with engineering and IT teams to scale solutions, automate workflows, and integrate models into business processes.
Play a lead role in operationalizing AI/ML solutions within production environments.
Visualization, Insights & Communication
Develop and deliver clear, compelling visualizations (static or dynamic) tailored to various audiences.
Interpret analytical results and communicate actionable insights that influence senior leaders and key business partners.
Translate complex technical work into business‑friendly recommendations.
Leadership, Mentorship & Collaboration
Coach, mentor, and develop junior data scientists; provide technical guidance and feedback.
Provide leadership on data science initiatives, ensuring outputs meet quality standards.
Work in a collaborative, innovation-focused environment with product owners, engineers, data architects, and business partners.
Manage multiple projects simultaneously, prioritizing independently and guiding less experienced team members.
Innovation & Research
Stay current on emerging statistical methods, machine learning advancements, and generative AI tools.
Conduct independent R&D to prototype new approaches and explore innovative solutions for high‑visibility business problems.
Demonstrate entrepreneurial, self‑starter mindset with a strong curiosity and continuous‑learning orientation.
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Unum and Colonial Life are part of Unum Group, a Fortune 500 company and leading provider of employee benefits to companies worldwide. Headquartered in Chattanooga, TN, with international offices in Ireland, Poland and the UK, Unum also has significant operations in Portland, ME, and Baton Rouge, LA - plus over 35 US field offices. Colonial Life is headquartered in Columbia, SC, with over 40 field offices nationwide.
Unum is an equal opportunity employer, considering all qualified applicants and employees for hiring, placement, and advancement, without regard to a person's race, color, religion, national origin, age, genetic information, military status, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, or protected veteran status.
The base salary range for applicants for this position is listed below. Unless actual salary is indicated above in the job description, actual pay will be based on skill, geographical location and experience.
$89,400.00-$183,500.00Additionally, Unum offers a portfolio of benefits and rewards that are competitive and comprehensive including healthcare benefits (health, vision, dental), insurance benefits (short & long-term disability), performance-based incentive plans, paid time off, and a 401(k) retirement plan with an employer match up to 5% and an additional 4.5% contribution whether you contribute to the plan or not. All benefits are subject to the terms and conditions of individual Plans.
Company:
UnumTop Skills
What We Do
Unum is a company of people serving people. A Fortune 500 company, we help millions of people gain affordable access to disability, life, accident, critical illness, dental and vision benefits through the workplace — benefits that help them protect their families, their finances and their futures. Our products and services meet the needs of a diverse workforce that includes four generations, growing ethnic diversity and changing family dynamics. A strong commitment to social responsibility is one of Unum's core values. In fact, we place particular emphasis on contributing to positive change in the communities in which we live and work. Helping our communities become better is a natural extension of the commitment we make each and every day to our customers — to help employers manage their businesses and employees protect their families and livelihoods. We look forward to sharing industry news, community involvement, recognition and other info we hope you find interesting and informative. We encourage your comments and feedback so we can be a valuable resource for you and get to know you a little better.
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